Topping stand



March 28, 1944. F VERBEEK 2,345,546

TOPPING STAND Filed Sept. 8, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l Unuenlor: AF Ve 5 e e/'r Affowrey March 28, 1944.' A VERBEEK 2,345,546

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Patented Mar. 28, 1944 TOPPING STAND Arnold Friedrich Verbeek,Wuestenbrand, Germany, assignor to Kalio, Inc., New York, N. Y.,

a corporation Application September 8, 1936, Serial No. 99,830

In Germany September 13, 1935 17 Claims. (Cl. 66-148) The inventionrelates to a method for the production of stockings with French heel andFrench foot and in fact to a method in which the legs and the feet ofthe stockings are made in a continuous piece and the heel parts workedon to the remaining portion in a second machine, i. e., the heelmachine. The working on of the heel parts was hitherto performed in themanner, that the heel parts, which were made on special machine,subsequently were combined with the upper parts of the heels and theside parts of the foot after these parts had been separated from eachother. The combination was performed by means of joining machines orknitting machines. In the first case some intermediate courses must beworked between the leg and the foot, whereby the manner of working ofthe knitting machine is rendered very complicated. In the second casethe heel parts must be brought behind the knock over comb. This againinvolves the drawback, that the knock over comb hereby must becontrolled in a manner which diifers widely from the usual way ofworking.

According to the invention finished heel parts are no more connectedwith the upper parts of the heels and the side parts of the foot, butthe last course of loops of the high parts of the heels and the firstcourse of the side parts of the foot are by means of a transfermechanism still to be described transferred to the frame needles of afiat knitting machine and thereupon in this machine, in continuation ofthe upper parts of the heels, the heel parts are produced.

The heel parts may be combined with the side parts of the foot byworking on additional rows to the side parts of the foot simultaneouslywith the making of the heel parts and subsequently combining the heelparts and the side parts of the foot by linking. The combination mayhowever also be performed in the knitting machine in which the heelparts are made after a method which also forms part of this invention.A- heel machine for performing this methodwill be described in duecourse. a I The invention also relates to a mounting device fortransferring the last course of loops of the upper parts of the heelsand the first course of loops of the side parts of the feet to theknitting machine. I I

The methods according to the invention and also the devices serving forcarrying the said method into effectwill now be'explained with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a part of a stocking made in con-- tinuous process withoutheels,

Figure 1a is the same part of a stocking, but

with additional rows between the end rows of the upper part of the heelsand the initial rows of the side parts of the foot,

Figure 2 shows the same'part of a stocking after it has been mounted onthe needles of a knitting machine,

Figure2a shows the same stocking after the heel parts and someadditional rows have been worked on to the side parts of the foot,

Figure 2b shows the same stocking as Fig. 20, but the heel parts arehere combined with the additional rows .on the side parts of the foot,

Figure 3 is a part of a heel machine showing the arrangement ofthe'needles for making the heels, auxiliary needles and wide and narrowplates, when the heel is to be joined with the side parts of the foot inthe machine,

Figure 4 is an elevation of the arrangement of the needles in afoot-making machine,

Figure 5 is an elevation of the same needle arrangement, but modifiedfor the subsequent working on of the heels, v

Figure 6 is a plan view of a sinker head with jacks and slur cocks andalso thread guides and needles in accordance with the modifiedarrangement of the needles shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 shows diagraimnatically a draw cam (half-cam with drivingprofile) Figure 8 is a plan view of a mounting device, in which theparts of the bar have been brought into one plane,

Figure 9 is the front elevation of the mountin device according toFigure 8, but showing the stripping comb,

Figure 10 is the front elevation of the left-hand half of the mountingdevice according to Figure 9, in which the rows of needles in the partsof the bar lie'above and parallel to each other,

Figure 11 shows a section on the line A-B of Figures 8 and 9 of themountingdevice in which the rows of needles in'the parts of the bar lieabove and parallel to each other.

Figure 1 shows a stocking with French heel and French foot in which theleg I and foot '2 are produced in a single piece on an ordinary straightbar machine. In this machine, the leg is first produced with the upperparts of the heel 3 and 4 and the foot including the foot side parts 5and 6 worked directly thereon.

After the separation of the connection between the parts 3 and 5 and 4and 6 the piece of goodl i. e., the last course of loops of the upperparts of the heels 3 and 4, and the first course of loops of the sideparts of the foot and 6 are transferred to the frame needles of a flatknitting machine, in which now after the last course of loops of theupper parts of the heels 3 and 4, the heel parts 3a and 4a andsimultaneously the additional rows 5a.and 6a of the side. parts of thefoot are worked on.

According to Figure 2a the additional rows 5a and 6a are separated fromthe heel parts so and 4a. In this case two separate yarn guides are usedfor the additional rows and the heel parts.

This has the advantage, that cheap material can be used for theadditional rowsfbecause the same afterwards are removed by theravelling. The yarn guide can however (Fig. 22)) move over the entirewidth of the heel parts and the side parts of the foot until asufficient number of additional rows have been worked.

The transfer of the piece of good I and the cutting of the connectionbetween the transfer courses 3 and 5 and 4 and 6 is performed in aspecial transfer device, which is described in connection with Figures 8to 11."

The heel parts shown in Figures 2a and 2?) must be connected with theside parts of the foot by looping. This looping can be avoided when theheel parts during their formation in the knitting machine are joinedwith the corresponding side parts of the foot. This may be performed inthe following manner.

After removing the finished workpiece from the knitting machine the endrows of the upper parts 3 and 40f the heels are mounted on the workingneedle arrangements 1 and 8 of the heel machine shown in Figure 3. Theseworking needle arrangements consist of ordinary needles which aremounted at a suitable distance from each other on the needle bar 9. I

In order to facilitate the mounting of the workpiece on the heelmachine, it is also possible, as shown in Figure 1a, between the parts 3and 5 V and 4 and 6 respectively to insert-so-called intermediate orextra rows. V

The initial rows of the side parts of the foot 5 and 6 separated fromthe upper part of the heels 3 and 4 are mounted on auxiliary needles II]which are located between the working needle arrangements 1 and 8,likewise mounted on the needle bar 9. The auxiliary needles I0 do nottake part in the formation of stitches. Accordingly, no threads are laidand worked within their range. The needles are, however, so designedthat they hold the transferred stitches of the side parts of the footduring the movement of the needle bar in the working of the heel rows,i. e., do not throw them off during the pressing movement. In addition,the auxiliary needles are so designed that they can co-operate in theusual way with the transfer points II and I2 arranged above them. Theauxiliary needles may either be given the same shape and position in theneedle bar as the frame needles, except in this case no pressing edgemay be arranged above the width of the auxiliary needles. It is,however, also possible to provide the auxiliary needles with anon-closing hook or finally they may also be arranged outside the travelof the frame needles so that they do not come into contact with thepressing edge.

In order to join the initial row of the side parts of the foot 5 and 6,with the heels to be worked on to the upper parts of the heels 3 and 4,after each heel row, the stitches of the side parts of the foot aretransferred by 'the'transfer points initial row of the side parts of thefoot is joined with a stitch of the inner line of the heel.

The decreasing of the heel on the outer edge of the heel parts isefiected in the usual manner by the narrowing points I3 and I4 which arearranged in normal manner above the heel needle groups I and B.

Figures 5 and 6 show a suitable design of a heel machine, the heelmachine shown in Figures 5 and 6 being evolved from an ordinary footmachine. Formerly, it was the practice to make the legs and feet on twoseparate machines and in fact the foot on the foot machine alreadyreferred to. Now that legs and feet are produced, as shown in Figure 1,in a single piece, the foot machines or footers hitherto used havebecome superfluous. As, however, there are few possibilities left ofusing these machines, a special advantage of the method according to theinvention is that these foot machines can be used, with slightalterations, for making the heels.

Figure 4 shows only the parts which are of importance here on a knownfoot machine. The needle bar is shown at 9a and carries the usualneedles. On the four transfer rods !5 are arranged in known manner thewide transfer point combs I Ia and I204 and the inside narrow transferpoint combs I3a and Ma.

According to the invention, the needle bar So of the existing footmachine is modified in such a manner that auxiliary needles Illa areinserted in the centre part while on the side parts the existing needlescorresponding to the maximum width of a heel are retained. The auxiliaryneedles do not take part in the formation of the stitches but are sodesigned that the stitches located on them can be transferred.

At the same time, the grouping of the existing transfer points has beendifferently arranged, the narrow transfer point combs I 3a and Ma beingarranged on the outside over the heel needle groups Ia and 8a and thewide transfer point combs Ila and I2a over the auxiliary needles IIJawhich do not take part in the'formation of the stitches. The said pointsare actuated independently of each other, the narrowing pointsdecreasing progressively as required by the decrease in the knitting ofthe heels while the wide transfer point combs always transfer from thesame needles (auxiliary needles Illa) and the stitches hanging on theauxiliary needles, of the initial rows of the side parts of the foot 5and B are always transferred to the first inner needle of the heelneedle groups la and 8a. The Wide transfer point combs therefore nolonger work with a progressive movement.

Instead of the auxiliary needles the usual needles can also be left inthe needle bar, if the pressing edge I5 is moved back into the centrepart as shown by Figure 6. -In this case, the needles also cannot takepart in the formation of the stitches.

The sinkers I? are retained both on the side parts of the needle groupand also in the centre part because they are required for forming thestitches of the initial rows of the foot side parts mounted on theauxiliary needles lfla of the centre part.

I8 indicates the thread guide located on the foot machine and which isonly used for working one of the heels on to the upper part of the heel3, whilst for working on the second heel to be worked on to the upperpart of the heel 4, a sec-' ond thread guide I8a is provided. In likemanner, a second slur cock |9a can be provided in addition to theexisting slur cock Illa.

lAS, however, as stated above, sinkers are also located in the centrepart of the needle group, the jacks operating these sinkers have beenomitted because no stitches are formed in the centre part and thereforeno sinking takes place.

The jacks 20, on the contrary, are only providedf-or the draw sinkers ofthe heel-working needle groups Ia and 8a. The sinkers in the centre parttherefore only co-operate with the catch bar 2| but not with the catchbar and the slur cocks, like the sinkers of the heel working needlegroups which take part in the formation of the stitches.

In view of the fact that owing to the us of two slur cocks, each oneonly has to travel a shorter distance than in the existing foot machine,the possibility exists of modifying the draw cam in an advantageousmanner, as shown in Figure 7.

In the first place, the existing draw cam is shown which, as is wellknown, only executes a half-turn during one rotation of the cam shaft.During this half-turn, the slur clocks are moved across the needlegroup. The angle 11 cuts out of the driving curve of the draw cam thatpart (A) of the travel of the cam during which the slur cocks move thesinkers forward. In this part of the draw cam movement, no formation ofstitches can accordingly take place. For the purpose of working thestitches, on the contrary, use is made of the section of the curve Bwith the corresponding angle, adjoining the part IA ofthe driving curve,the amplitude of the slur cock movement corresponding to the distance s.

Owing to the provision of the second slur cock Illa, the path traversedby the slur cocks need only amount to less than half of the previoustravel 3, namely the distance s1, so that a driving curve A1 is obtainedwhich is appreciably flatter than the original driving curve A. At thesame time, however, the proportionate time for the working of thestitches would remain the same as before (section B and angle b).Accordingly, although a slower travel would be achieved, the machinecould not run faster because the. proportionate time for the formationof the stitches remains the same. 7 j

As, however, the driving curve A1 is very flat relatively to the drivingcurve A, it can, without difiiculty, be selected, even with a higherspeed of the heel machine, much steeper compared with that of theexisting foot machine. In order to be able to make the machine runfaster, the angle a and a is made smaller, as a result of which adriving curve A2 is obtained. This driving curve A2 is, it is true,somewhat steeper than the driving curve A1, but it is still appreciablyflatter than the original steep driving curve A of the foot machine cam.i

As, however, in the case of this new driving curve A2, only the reducingtravel 31 of the slur cocks is necessary, we also obtain for the Workingof the stitches a new curve section Bl, the corresponding angle b ofwhich is greater than the angle b corresponding to the curvesection Bfor working the stitches on the foot machine.

gained for the formation of the stitches. Therefore, the driving travelfor the slur cocks is smaller, and the proportionate time for theworking of the stitches greater than in the previous foot machines. As aresult, the foot machine converted into a heel machine can run muchfaster than the existing foot machines without thereby im-' pairing themode of operation of the resigned foot machines according to the presentinvention.

In accordance with the present invention, I

provide a specially-devised topping stand particularly intended tofacilitate the handling of the blank for positioning the edge loops ofthe last course of each high heel section and the edge loops of thefirst course of each sole section of the blank.

As will appear from Figures 8 to 11, inclusive,

the specially devised topping stand comprises a cured to the supportrail 32 in such a manner as to pivot through an arc of so that the rowsof topping points thereonmay be brought selectively either above andparallel to the rows of topping points on the fixed part of the bar, orin the same plane therewith.

In order to facilitate the topping of the blank, the points of themovable parts of the bar are shorter than the points of the fixed partsof the bar, and said points are angularly bent to provide stop means forthe fabric, as will more clear ly appear in Figure 11. The position ofthe hinges 34 and 34a is adjustable relative to the support rail 32 andthe movable parts 3| and 3m of the bar so that the distance between thetopping points of the fixed and movable parts may be varied. Forthispurpose, the hinges 34 and 34a are connected to the support rail 32and movable parts 3| and 3m preferablyby means of bolts 32a passing intovertically elongated openings 32b in said hinges in the manner moreclearly shown in Figures 10 and 11.

on the support rail and, further, the movable parts may be adjusted upand down on the hinges. Accordingly, there is provided means associatedwith the swinging topping point sections to adjust the same in relationto the fixed topping point sections. The correct position of the movableparts of the bar when paralleling the fixed parts of the latterisassured by means of adjustable stops 36 and 36a.

Also mountedinthe support rail 32 and disposed on both sides of thetopping bar are sliding members 3land 310: provided with knives 38 and38a adapted to cut the connecting courses between the topped courses. Inorder to limit the movement of the two knives 38 and 38a dur ing thesevering of the transferred courses, adjustable steps 39 'and'39a areprovided on the sliding members 31. and3'la respectively. I

The knives may be operated individually by manually sliding the members31 and 31a, or may be operated simultaneously by providing a suitableconnection therebetween. The knives may also be adjusted up and down tocorrespond to the adjustment of the movable parts of the bar, forexample, by means of set screws 40 and 40a, or like elements which mayhave screw-threaded By reducing the angle a, time is accordingly Thusthehinges may conveniently be adjusted up and down engagement with theknife carrying members 31 and 31a and bear upon the support rail 32 sothat by tightening or loosening the set screws 49 and 40a or likeelements, the normal play between said members and supporting rail maybe taken up or slackened. Since, as clearly shown in Figures 8 and 9,the set screws or like elements are disposed adjacent the inner sideedges of the members 31 and 31a, the leading edges of the knives 38 and38a by adjustment of said set screws or like elements may be raised orlowered within limits sufficient to correspond to the adjustment betweenthe fixed and swinging topping point sections without interfering withthe sliding movement of the members 31 and 31a.

For the purpose of transferring the loops from the topping points to theneedles of a heeler machine, an ordinary well known transfer bar ispreferably used. For that purpose, the transfer bar isinserted incorresponding recesses 4! (Figure 11) of special receiving arms 42 whichare connected to ashaft 43 rotatably mounted in bearings 44 secured uponthe frame 33, so that said arms may be swung for bringing the transferbar into operative position. In order to permit the adjustment of thepoints of the transfer bar in correct position relative to the toppingpoints, the receiving arms 42 are provided with adjustable stop pins 45preferably disposed to bear on the support rail 32.

The loops on the topping points are transferred onto the points of thetransfer bar with the aid of a movable stripper comb 46 located in itsinoperative position below the topping bar in order to allow the freetopping of the blank and to render possible the pivotal movement of themovable parts of the topping bar.

The necessary movement for the stripping of the loops is preferablyimparted to the stripper comb 46 by means of a link mechanism connectedto the frame 33 and actuated by hand. The link mechanism, as shown inFigure 11, consists of a bell crank lever 41 mounted on the pivot 48.This pivot is located on the lever arm 49 which may be moved about theaxis by means of the handle 50. In order to assure the correct guidingof the bell crank lever, the free end thereof is connected to a link 52pivotally mounted on the frame 33, as shown at 53.

In using the novel topping device, the combination leg and foot blank,made in one operation on any suitable well known fiat knitting machine,is placed in engagement with the superposed and paralleling toppingpoints, that is, the loops of the last courses of the high heel sections3 and 4 are topped on the points of the fixed parts of the topping bar,and the loops of the first courses of the sole sections are topped onthe points of the movable parts of the topping bar.

After the topping of the blank on the topping bar in the manner abovestated, the fabric between the topped courses is cut and then theswingable parts of the topping bar with the loops engaged thereon areswung through an arc of 180 so that said loops are brought in a samecontinuous plane with the loops in engagement with the fixed parts ofthe bar.

Thereupon, all the loops in engagement with the topping points aretransferred by means of the stripper comb 46 onto the transfer bar whichis then used to transfer said loops onto the needles of the heelermachine for the purpose of adding heel tabs on the blank.

It is, of course, to be understood that the construction herein shownand described is capable of several modifications, and thosemodifications coming within the scope of the subjoined claims are to beconsidered within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a topping stand, a topping bar comprising two topping pointsections, each having a series of topping points, pivotal supportingmeans for said sections constructed and arranged to permit relativeswinging movements of said sections from a straight line to a parallelposition, a transfer bar having transfer points and supporting means forthe same, loop transfer means comprising a comb movable to force fabricheld on the topping points onto the points of the transfer bar, andcutting means mounted for operative movement between said topping pointsections when in paralleling position to sever fabric topped onto bothof said sections.

2. In a device for topping knitted fabric: a supporting rail; a pair oftopping point sections fixed to said rail; a pair of topping pointsections pivotally mounted on said rail to swing with re spect to saidfixed sections for placement in relative paralleling positions to engageseries of loops in paralleling courses within the fabric; membersslidably mounted on said rail; and knives carried by said members formovement between the paralleling topping point sections to sever thefabric intermediately of the series of loops engaged on said toppingpoint sections.

3. In a device for topping knitted fabric: a supporting rail; a pair oftopping point sections fixed to said rail; a pair of topping pointsections pivotally mounted on said rail to swing with respect to saidfixed sections for placement in relative paralleling positions to engageseries of loops in paralleling courses within the fabric; membersslidably mounted on said rail; knives carried by said members formovement between the paralleling topping point sections to sever thefabric intermediately of the series of loops engaged on said toppingpoint sections; and adjustable stops on said members for limiting themovement of the knives in their severing action.

4. In a device for topping knitted fabric; a supporting rail; a pair oftopping point sections fixed to said rail; and a pair of topping pointsections pivotally mounted on said rail to swing with respect to saidfixed sections for placement in relative paralleling positions to engageseries of loops in paralleling courses within the fabric, the toppingpoints of the swinging sections being shorter than the topping points ofthe fixed sections.

5. In a device for topping knitted fabric: a supporting rail; a pair oftopping point sections fixed to said rail; a pair of topping pointsections pivotally mounted on said rail to swing with respect to saidfixed sections for placement in relative paralleling positions to engageseries of loops in paralleling courses within the fabric; and meansassociated with the swinging topping point sections to adjust the samein relation to the fixed topping point sections.

6. A topping bar comprising two sections each having a series of toppingpoints and in which the points of one section are longer than the pointsof the other section, and binge connections for said sectionsconstructed and arranged to permit movement of said sections from aparallel position to a straight line position in which a normal spacedrelationship is maintained between all the adjoining points of said bar.

'7. A topping stand having a topping bar com prising two topping pointsections, the points of one section being longer than the points of theother section, and pivotal supporting means for said sections arrangedto permit movement thereof from a parallel to a straight line positionin which a normal spaced relationship is maintained between all theadjoining points of said bar.

8. In a topping stand, a topping bar comprising two topping pointsections, each having a series of topping points with off-sets in theshank portions thereof and in which the points of one section are longerthan the points of the other section, pivotal supporting means for saidsections constructed and arranged to permit relative swinging movementsof said sections from a parallel to a straight line position, looptransfer means comprising a comb having teeth arranged to extend betweenthe topping points and to the rear of said off-sets upon movement ofsaid topping points to a straight line position, and a transfer barhaving quills arranged to register with the topping points in straightline position.

9. In a topping stand, a topping bar comprising two topping pointsections, supporting means for said sections constructed and arranged topermit relative swinging movements of said sec tions above axes locatedat adjacent ends of said sections upwardly to a parallel toppingposition, a knife movable to cut the fabric topped onto said paralleltopping point sections, loop transfer means comprising a comb havingteeth arranged to extend between the topping points and to the rear ofthe fabric upon movement of said topping points to straight lineposition, and supporting means for registering the points of a transferbar with the points of said topping bar.

0. In a topping stand, a topping bar comprising two topping pointsections, each having a series of topping points and in which the pointsof one section are longer than the points of the other section, pivotalsupporting means for said sections having an axis substantially at theinner ends of said sections and on which said sections are movable fromthe straight line position to a parallel topping position, a transferbar having points adapted to register with all the points of saidtopping bar in straight line position, and supporting means for saidtransfer bar.

11. In a topping stand, a topping bar comprising two topping pointsections each having a series of topping points, the points of one ofsaid sections being longer than the points of the other of saidsections, means for supporting said sections in parallel position fortopping separated courses of a knitted fabric thereon, and means forcutting the fabric extending between said topping points.

12'. In a topping stand having two topping units to receive parallelfoot and leg courses from each heel corner to the selvages of acombination foot and leg stocking blank for subsequent transfer, whichcomprises in each of said units two topping point sections relativelymovable between a topping position in which the sections of the twounits are in parallel position and a transfer position in which all ofthe topping points of the several sections are in a spaced single linerelationship, a fabric cutting knife associated with each topping pointunit and movable for severing the fabric topped on the points when inparallel position, and slidable means for supporting said knives fortheir movement to sever the fabric.

13. In a topping stand, the combination of two topping point units eachcomprising a stationary topping point section, said topping pointsections being supported in straight line relationship to one another, amovable topping point section associated with each of said stationarysections, a pivotal support for each of said movable sections on whichsaid latter topping point sections are v movable from parallel positionswith relation to the' stationary point sections inwardly into a spacedstraight line relationship thereto, a fabric cutting knife associatedwith each topping point unit and movable for severing the fabric toppedon the points when in parallel position, and means for supporting saidknives in their movement to sever the fabric.

14. In combination in a topping machine, a base including journalbearing means for transfer bar supporting means, transfer bar supportingmeans journaled by said bearing means including portions for removablyreceiving a transfer bar, knockover bit mechanism including operatingmeans providing for the transfer of yarn loops from loop-manipulatingimplements of the machine to loop-manipulating implements of saidtransfer bar, supporting means on the base for said machineloop-manipulating implements, groups of said machnie loop-manipulatingimplements stationarily supported by said base supporting means inposition corresponding to positions of end sections of the transfer barwhen the latter is positioned by its said supporting means, groups ofsaid machine implements each mounted on said base supporting means formovement between a position in which the group is disposed in adjacentoffset parallel plane relation to one of said end sections with the headends of the implements of the adjacent groups in different planes normalto the longitudinal axes of the implements and a position in which thegroup is disposed in alignment with said one section, and means forsevering yarn between said groups when they are in said adjacent offsetparallel plane relation.

15. In combination in a topping machine, a base including journalbearing means for transfer bar supporting means, transfer bar supportingmeans journaled by said bearing means including portions for removablyreceiving a transfer bar, knockover bit mechanism including operatingmeans providing for the transfer of yarn loops from loop-manipulatingimplements of the machine to loop-manipulating implements of saidtransfer bar, supporting means on the base for said machineloop-manipulating implements, groups of said machine loop-manipulatingimplements stationarily supported by said base supporting means inposition corresponding to positions of end sections of the transfer barwhen the latter is positioned by its said supporting means, groups ofsaid machine implements each mounted on said base supporting means formovement between a position in which the group is disposed in adjacentoifset parallel plane relation to one of said end sections with the headends of the implements of the adjacent groups in difierent planes normalto the longitudinal axes of the implements and a position in which thegroup is disposed in alignment with said one section with said head endsof the adjacent groups in a common plane normal to said axes, and meansfor severing yarn between said groups when they are in said adjacentoffset parallel plane relation.

16. In combination in a mechanism operative in the production of knittedfabrics, yarn loopmanipulating implements for the reception ofvv'alewisev spaced rows of loops of a fabric area, means for severingyarn between said rows, and means providing for pivotal movement of therows about adjacent ends thereof after said severance. A

17. In combination in a mechanism operative in the production of knittedfabrics, groups of elongated yarn loop-manipulating implements forwalewise offset parallel position of the groups with the head ends ofthe implements of the respective groups in ofiset planes normal to thelongitudinal axes of the implements, means for severing yarn betweenthegroups in said position, and means providing for pivotal movement ofthe groups about adjacent ends thereof after said severance to efiectalignment of the groups.

ARNOLD FRIEDRICH VERBEEK.

